Pair of Tureens, Liners, and Stands

Thomas Germain; François-Thomas Germain

1726–1729

Silver

J. Paul Getty Museum

Two ornate silver tureens with liners and stands are displayed against a plain gray background. The tureens are elaborately decorated with sculpted animal heads and intricate scrollwork. These large tureens were designed to serve oille, a rich stew of meat such as rabbit, venison, or boar; vegetables; and a mixture of aromatic herbs. Here the boar's head and legs reflect the tureens' usual contents. Seventy years after they were made, these tureens were still listed in an inventory with their elaborate lids, now lost, which were ornamented with artichokes, cauliflowers, birds, shells, and shrimp. A pen and ink drawing for silver pieces, attributed to Thomas Germain, shows a preliminary sketch for a similar, lidded tureen. Very similar tureens, without lids and filled with fruit, appear in a painting by Alexandre-Fra